Team Carnage Captures 2026 Elite 8 Duals Wrestling Championship

After finishing the 2025 Elite 8 Duals as the Bridesmaids to Dynasty, Team Carnage came back to Atlanta, Georgia to win it all in 2026, taking down Team Thunder in a lopsided final with a 33-19 score on Sunday afternoon.

Saturday’s journey started with two pools containing six teams each. Round robin action would narrow the field down to the “Elite 8,” with the top four wrestling teams from each pool moving onto the championship bracket.

The Sunday Setup

Carnage and Thunder won their respective pools and were set on a collision course to the finals. During the run to the title bout, Carnage avenged last year’s loss to Dynasty with a 43-16 quarterfinal drubbing.

Carnage had a similarly easy time with Valiant Prep in the semifinals, taking that one on a 48-15 count. Thunder, on the other hand, had to pull off a late comeback in a dual with Cormier Trained that came down to the heavyweight bout, with Thunder’s No. 8 Satoshi Davis (SLAM! Academy, Nevada) doing the expected thing and picking up a 3-2 win over No. 15 Matthew Cooley (Oakdale, California), to push his squad to the 26-24 win.

Drama Free Final, Except for the Upsets

There would be no such drama in the championship final as Carnage won eight of the first eleven matches to jump out to a commanding 30-9 lead.

During that stretch, Carnage used upsets in three matches and were close to securing another unexpected win from No. 33 Parker Casey (Johnston, Iowa), who gave No. 12 Jake Hughes (Beaver, Ohio) all he could handle in a 3-2 loss that was won on a locked hands call in the first overtime round.

We had noticed Linsly, West Virginia’s Brock Humphrey registered for Super 32 at 106 pounds, so we moved him there without realizing he would be at 113 for Elite 8. Humphrey is ranked fourth at 106 pounds and squared off with No. 15 Killian Coluccio (Lacey Township, New Jersey).

When both were at 113 pounds, Coluccio was ranked ahead of Humphrey, so Humphrey coming up with a 4-2 win was a big bonus for Carnage and came right after Thunder had picked up an unexpected win at 106 pounds when No. 14 Cameron Bartlow (Clovis, California) grabbed a tiebreaker win over No. 9 Carter Smith (Perrysburg, Ohio).

Thunder’s recently crowned U17 World Champ, Jovanni Tovar (Miami Southridge, Florida) is ranked No. 4 at 120 pounds but was up at 126 for Elite 8 and became the victim of an upset by No. 8 Mateo Gallegos (DuBois), 1-0, to put more unplanned points up for Carnage.

The final surprise outcome for Carnage was written by No. 10 Grayson Fuchs (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) at 150 pounds when edged double U17 National Champ, Arseni Kikiniou (Poway, California) in the ultimate tiebreaker period.

Another of Thunder’s three wins was of the upset variety as No. 10 Matthew Orbeta (Poway) pounced on No. 5 Urijah Lopez (Perrysburg) en route to an easy 8-2 decision at 138 pounds.

Counted On and Posted Up

During the run that swayed the outcome towards Carnage, five of their finest came through with points the team was counting on as bonus points were gained by No. 10 Johnathan Thompson (Iowa), No. 2 Matt O’Neill (Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania), and No. 2 MJ Staples (New Prairie, Indiana).

Thompson got Carnage off to a fine start with a 17-5 major decision of Chase Miller-Smith (Ohio) at 100 pounds. O’Neill destroyed Elijah Castanon at 144 pounds with an 18-0 technical fall. Staples decked No. 31 Ryan Gavrish (Saint John Vianney, New Jersey) in 3:23 at 165.

Hard-fought decisions were earned by No. 6 Chase Karenbauer (Grove City, Pennsylvania) and No. 5 Blaze Van Gundy (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) for Carnage. Karenbauer got by No. 11 Barndon Bickerton (Highland, Ohio), 1-0, at 120 pounds. At 132, Van Gundy encountered No. 18 Bobby Ruscitti (Lombard Montini, Illinois) and sat him down, 8-5.

Too Little, Too Late

When Thunder’s No. 11 Maximus Fortier (University, West Virginia) won his 175-pound match with a 14-4 major decision of No. 24 Sean Breedlove (Center Grove, Indiana), his troupe still had a shot at stealing the glory. At 30-13 and three bouts remaining, three pins would give Thunder the win.

A high-powered matchup was on the card at 190 pounds with Thunder’s No. 1 Mario Carini (Poway) facing off with No. 5 Kyle Gallo (Zephyrhills Christian, Florida). Given the fact this was a top five matchup, a pin was very unlikely and when the allotted time expired, Carini was holding a 7-3 advantage, thus clinching the win for Carnage.

At 215 pounds, No. 7 Max Konopka (Greens Farms Academy, Connecticut) ran the Thunder win streak to three with a 4-1 decision of No. 8 Peter Mocco (Cardinal Gibbons, Florida).

Closing With A Bang

As if to add insult to injury, Carnage added one more mild upset to their ledger at 285 pounds to finish off the win in style with No. 9 Bruno Pallone (Hardin, Montana) winning a 10-9 overtime affair with No. 8 Davis.

The Early Ways of Carnage

Carnage had three matches where they cruised to victory in Pool B, but their third-round showdown, versus Cormier Trained ended with a 25-21 tally, in which the win was secured with two straight wins at the end by Mocco and Pallone.

Carnage opened Saturday with a 48-12 win over Stellar Trained. Round two saw CT Whale fall 41-9. After the close call with Cormier, Carnage slapped the Black Mambas around to end the pool with a 53-8 win.

The Toll of the Carnage

Pallone and Fuchs were the only two grapplers to not taste defeat for Carnage. Fuchs handled two guys ranked around him with a 7-2 outcome versus Valiant Prep’s No. 9 Marcus Killgore (Sahuarita, Arizona) and added a 6-1 “w” against Dynasty’s No. 11 Kane Shawger (St. Xavier, Ohio).

Thompson, Carter Smith, O’Neill, and Staples got through the two days with 6-1 records. Thompson was pinned by U17 World Champion, CT Whale’s Nelson Villafane (West Scranton, Pennsylvania). Smith beat No. 4 Marc Mannello (Briarcliff, New York), who repped CT Whale, 4-2, and suffered his loss in the finals.

O’Neill was tripped up by Dynasty’s No. 5 Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania), 7-5, and defeated No. 3 Braylon Reynolds (Brownsburg, Indiana), 1-0, who competed for Cormier. Staples dropped a one versus two blowup with Cormier Trained’s Rocco Cassioppi (Hononegah, Illinois), 8-3.

Staples may still be ascending to the number one position, though, as rumor has it that Rocco and his brother, Bruno, are graduating early and beginning their collegiate careers at the University of Wisconsin, forgoing their senior seasons.

Carnell Davis (Ponaganset, Rhode Island) is a wrestler we thought had graduated, so that is why he was not included in any of our rankings for this year. Davis rolled off three big wins in going 3-1. Davis shocked No. 9 Jacob Morris (South Anchorage, Alaska), No. 11 Colin Rutlin (Christian Brothers, Missouri), and No. 24 Colby Houle (New York Military Academy).

Going 5-2 for Carnage were Humphrey, Karenbauer, Gallegos, Lopez, and Mocco. Van Gundy and Gallo were 4-3. Breedlove finished 2-5.

Day 2 -Bracket - Team Carnage
Guaranteed 1st place

Match #1 Quarterfinal

Team Carnage defeated Dynasty 43-16

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over D`Andre Adams (Dynasty) TF 21-5

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Sebastian Gutierrez (Dynasty) Maj 14-3

113 - Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) over Travon Cleveland (Dynasty) TF 15-0

120 - Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) over Caleb Noble (Dynasty) Dec 9-6

126 - Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) over Cruzer Dominguez (Dynasty) Maj 8-0

132 - Keegan Bassett (Dynasty) over Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) Fall 5:46

138 - Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) over Cayden Rios (Dynasty) Dec 5-0

144 - Dale Corbin (Dynasty) over Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) Dec 7-5

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Kane Shawger (Dynasty) Dec 6-1

157 - JJ Coles (Dynasty) over Parker Casey (Team Carnage) SV-1 23-16

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Steele Myers (Dynasty) Dec 5-0

175 - Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) over John Manning (Dynasty) Maj 11-2

190 - Mario Hutcherson (Dynasty) over Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) Maj 16-3

215 - Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) over Cesar Salas (Dynasty) Maj 17-6

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Steven Faubion (Dynasty) TF 15-0

Match #2 Semifinal

Team Carnage defeated Valiant Prep 48-15

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over Logan Raske (Valiant Prep) TF 18-3

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Ty Martin (Valiant Prep) TF 18-3

113 - Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) over Jarron Beltran (Valiant Prep) MFF

120 - Lazarus Mcewen (Valiant Prep) over Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) Dec 7-1

126 - Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) over Ernie Perez (Valiant Prep) Fall 3:46

132 - Angel Cejudo Jr (Valiant Prep) over Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) Dec 4-1

138 - Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) over Joaquin Chacon (Valiant Prep) Dec 9-7

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Konner Larkin (Valiant Prep) Dec 6-2

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Marcus Kilgore (Valiant Prep) Dec 7-2

157 - Carnell Davis (Team Carnage) over Jacob Morris (Valiant Prep) SV-1 4-1

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Chase Young (Valiant Prep) TF 20-3

175 - Gary High (Valiant Prep) over Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) Dec 7-6

190 - Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

215 - Ladd Holman (Valiant Prep) over Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) Fall 1:07

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Andrew Arroyo Jr (Valiant Prep) Dec 9-2

Match #3 1st Place Match

Team Carnage defeated Team Thunder 33-19

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over Chase Miller-Smith (Team Thunder) Maj 17-5

106 - Cameron Bartlow (Team Thunder) over Carter Smith (Team Carnage) TB-1 4-3

113 - Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) over Killian Coluccio (Team Thunder) Dec 4-2

120 - Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) over Brandon Bickerton (Team Thunder) Dec 1-0

126 - Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) over Jovanni Tovar (Team Thunder) Dec 1-0

132 - Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) over Bobby Ruscitti (Team Thunder) Dec 8-5

138 - Matthew Orbeta (Team Thunder) over Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) Dec 8-2

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Elijah Castanon (Team Thunder) TF 18-0

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Arseni Kikiniou (Team Thunder) UTB 1-1

157 - Jake Hughes (Team Thunder) over Parker Casey (Team Carnage) UTB 3-2

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Ryan Garvish (Team Thunder) Fall 3:24

175 - Maximus Fortier (Team Thunder) over Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) Maj 14-4

190 - Mario Carini (Team Thunder) over Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) Dec 7-3

215 - Maximus Konopka (Team Thunder) over Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) Dec 4-2

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Satoshi Davis (Team Thunder) SV-1 10-9

Pool B - Team Carnage

Match #1 Round 1

Team Carnage defeated Steller Trained 48-12

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over Walker Hoffman (Steller Trained) Maj 15-5

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Steve Bagocius (Steller Trained) Maj 8-0

113 - Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) over Shaeffer Hoffman (Steller Trained) Dec 4-3

120 - Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) over Cael Muller (Steller Trained) Maj 9-1

126 - Justin Farnsworth (Steller Trained) over Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) Dec 3-1

132 - Brock Rothermel (Steller Trained) over Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) TB-1 4-2

138 - Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) over Jack Cole (Steller Trained) Fall 2:52

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Declan Obyrne (Steller Trained) Dec 5-2

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Ray Fitzgerald (Steller Trained) Maj 9-1

157 - Greyson Music (Steller Trained) over Carnell Davis (Team Carnage) Dec 4-1

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Luke Knox (Steller Trained) TF 23-6

175 - Nate Replogle (Steller Trained) over Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) Dec 11-5

190 - Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) over A.J. Corp (Steller Trained) Fall 1:57

215 - Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) over Mason Chamberlain (Steller Trained) TF 15-0

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Noah Knorp (Steller Trained) Maj 13-2

Match #2 Round 2

Team Carnage defeated CT Whale 41-9

100 - Nelson Villifane (CT Whale) over Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) Fall 1:26

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Marc Mannello (CT Whale) Dec 4-2

113 - Evan Restivo (CT Whale) over Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) Dec 3-2

120 - Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) over Nathan Schuman (CT Whale) Dec 5-0

126 - Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) over Arturo Reyes (CT Whale) Dec 4-1

132 - Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) over Alex Marchetti (CT Whale) SV-1 5-2

138 - Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) over CJ Caines (CT Whale) Dec 1-0

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Max Mooney (CT Whale) Dec 4-0

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Illia Kyrianenko (CT Whale) Maj 10-2

157 - Carnell Davis (Team Carnage) over Colby Houle (CT Whale) Dec 8-3

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Mason Howart (CT Whale) Dec 7-1

175 - Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) over Tommy Schecterly (CT Whale) Maj 14-2

190 - Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) over Caige Horak (CT Whale) Dec 8-5

215 - Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) over Jack Harty (CT Whale) Dec 4-2

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Ryan Schneider (CT Whale) Dec 10-5

Match #3 Round 3

Team Carnage defeated Cormier Trained 25-21

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over Aviyahn Mills (Cormier Trained) Dec 7-4

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Ausome Guillermo (Cormier Trained) Dec 7-4

113 - Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) over Eli Mendoza (Cormier Trained) Dec 4-3

120 - Anthony Garza (Cormier Trained) over Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) Dec 4-2

126 - Jorge Rios (Cormier Trained) over Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) Dec 4-2

132 - Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) over Owen Marshall (Cormier Trained) Dec 12-8

138 - Isreal Borge (Cormier Trained) over Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) Dec 7-2

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Braylon Reynolds (Cormier Trained) Dec 1-0

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Carlo Contino (Cormier Trained) Dec 3-2

157 - Wyatt Lewis (Cormier Trained) over Parker Casey (Team Carnage) SV-1 16-9

165 - Rocco Cassioppi (Cormier Trained) over MJ Staples (Team Carnage) Dec 8-3

175 - Bruno Cassioppi (Cormier Trained) over Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) Dec 1-0

190 - Mason Savidan (Cormier Trained) over Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) Dec 11-7

215 - Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) over Brian Haran (Cormier Trained) Dec 10-3

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Matthew Cooley (Cormier Trained) Maj 13-2

Match #4 Round 4

Team Carnage defeated Black Mambas 53-8

100 - Johnathan Thompson (Team Carnage) over Rocco Palillian (Black Mambas) Dec 6-2

106 - Carter Smith (Team Carnage) over Amir Newnan Winfrey (Black Mambas) Dec 4-2

113 - Cason Craft (Black Mambas) over Brock Humphrey (Team Carnage) Dec 4-0

120 - Chase Karenbauer (Team Carnage) over Isaiah Chavez (Black Mambas) TF 16-0

126 - Mateo Gallegos (Team Carnage) over Patrick Pina (Black Mambas) Maj 8-0

132 - Blaze Van Gundy (Team Carnage) over Jacob Saunders (Black Mambas) Dec 6-2

138 - Urijah Lopez (Team Carnage) over Jack Simpson (Black Mambas) TF 16-1

144 - Matt O`Neill (Team Carnage) over Gavin Green (Black Mambas) Dec 10-7

150 - Grayson Fuchs (Team Carnage) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

157 - Carnell Davis (Team Carnage) over Colin Rutlin (Black Mambas) Dec 7-6

165 - MJ Staples (Team Carnage) over Thunder Page (Black Mambas) Dec 8-1

175 - Justus Heeg (Black Mambas) over Sean Breedlove (Team Carnage) TF 17-2

190 - Kyle Gallo (Team Carnage) over Braeden Simoneaux (Black Mambas) Dec 4-2

215 - Peter Mocco (Team Carnage) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf

285 - Bruno Pallone (Team Carnage) over Gabriel Fimbres (Black Mambas) Fall 3:58

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